Daugherty: Bengals played dumb in loss to Bears

Sep. 9, 2013

Loading Photo Galleries ...

Written by

Bengals receiver A.J. Green had 162 receiving yards on Sunday, but pointed out after the game that he and his teammates must quit "killing themselves." / The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger

More

ADVERTISEMENT

CHICAGO – The Bengals aren’t good enough to overcome the Bengals. Whatever they thought of themselves at 1 o’clock Sunday – young and improving, on the verge of very good, Super Bowl or Bust – that opinion had taken a jab to the jaw three hours later, when Chicago’s Jay Cutler dropped to a victory knee.

A.J, Green, who catches perspective almost as effortlessly as he catches footballs, put it this way:

“This team is going to be really good if we put the pieces together and stop killing ourselves.’’

The Bengals beat the Bengals, with an assist from the Chicago Bears. They are similar teams, both 10-6 last year, both at the top of the NFL’s bloated middle class. Most NFL games are close, and most close games are decided by a few plays, either smart or dumb. On Sunday, the Bengals played dumb. The result was a 24-21 defeat that left the Bengals angry, frustrated and feeling as if they’d lost their lunch money.

“We folded a little bit,’ Vontaze Burfict decided.

That’s a little strong. What isn’t is that the Bengals made silly penalties. They wasted timeouts, inexcusably. They had three turnovers, the last of which turned the game. If you’re looking for a metaphor for 21-24, you’ll find it right there with Rey Maualuga, taking an unnecessary roughness penalty with 1:06 to play.

That gave the Bears an automatic first down when they were looking at having to punt. It also ended the game, given the Bengals had exhausted their supply of timeouts a full eight minutes earlier. Which was inexcusable.

“We had a lot of guys lose their composure today,’’ Marvin Lewis said.

They also had a lot of confusion on the sideline, which led to consecutive timeouts with half a quarter to play, and which will fuel the endless skepticism regarding Lewis’ ability to manage time. He and Burfict allowed there was “confusion’’ and “miscommunication’’ regarding substitutions, especially at linebacker, owing to a slight Burfict injury.

"That was my fault,’’ Lewis said.

An NFL sideline can be a furious place. Emotions fly and snap judgments are made, as the game flies past. But this is Lewis’ 11th year as a head coach. In quarterback parlance, the game should have slowed down for him by now. And for his staff. Time management should not be such an issue.

It’s a mark of the Bengals collective ability that they could mess up so much and still leave Soldier Field feeling they should have beaten a good team in its opener at home. Cincinnati was up 21-17 and driving when Mohamed Sanu fumbled on the Bears 19, with 12:48 left in the game.

Given the way the Bengals had moved the ball, it wasn’t unreasonable to believe they’d have reached the endzone on that drive. As it was, Tim Jennings jarred the ball loose and recovered it. The Bears then went 81 yards on eight plays, to take a 24-21 lead with 7:58 to play.

Until then, the story was about Green, who cannot be covered by just one human being. He accounted in some fashion for all three Bengals scores. Green caught a 42-yard pass in the first quarter, beating Peanut Tillman’s very good coverage with some typical A.J. contortions as the ball arrived. Green followed that up by faking Tillman out of his cleats, for a 2-yard TD catch.

Green struck deep again in the second quarter, 45 yards down the right sideline, past Jennings. Green set up Cincinnati’s last TD, drawing a 34-yard pass interference penalty on Tillman, to the Bears 1.

NFL season openers are a little about answering questions and allaying fears. Yes, Andy Dalton is capable of hitting home runs. After a bad interception on the Bengals first possession, Dalton was spectacular.

Yes, Anthony Collins can step up at left tackle and do a credible job. The Bears didn’t win because they harassed Dalton. And yes, the defense can be as good as advertised. Cutler blows hot and cold, sometimes in the same game. He was on in the second half Sunday. He beats lots of good defenses when he’s on.

A.J. Green was dead on, though. If the Bengals learn to play smart, they’ll look back at Game 1 and shake their heads at their jugheaded-ness. If they don’t get that education, all that prime, young talent won’t save them. Not in the NFL. The competition is just too keen.